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The death of recent Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship opponent Justin Thornton hit Dillon Cleckler hard.

Clecker, who had built a relationship with Thornton over the years after their MMA bout under the Island Fights banner in 2013, released a statement on his Facebook page reacting to his friend’s passing. An “absolutely devastated” Cleckler said that Thornton ultimately died due to pneumonia.

“As a fighter nothing prepares you for the news I received this morning on my way to training. Some of you may not of heard yet but my last opponent Justin Thornton passed away last night due to pneumonia,” Cleckler wrote. “I can’t help but feel absolutely devastated about this because I’ve known Justin for years. Not many people know this but we fought 8 years ago and he told me right away he wanted the rematch. I know that when he got the phone call to finally get that rematch on a bigger stage he saw a huge opportunity and took it. Justin is a warrior. It’s in his blood to …

While the UFC Fight Night 193 main event was short on action, both Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker are facing potentially lengthy medical suspensions following their light heavyweight bout.

Santos defeated Walker via unanimous decision in a lackluster five-round fight this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Santos needs X-rays on his left ring finger, left foot, left knee and left ribs and then must receive medical clearance or he will be sidelined until April 1. At a minimum, “Marreta” is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24. Walker, meanwhile, needs an X-ray on his left foot and must receive medical clearance or he is out until April 1. At a minimum, Walker is suspended until Nov. 2 with no contact until Oct. 24.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from the event to mixedmartialarts.com.

Four other athletes from UFC Fight Night 193 are facing potential six-month terms: Niko Price (left kne…

An interesting matchup of lightweight talents is on tap for UFC Fight Night 197, as Thiago Moises will lock horns with Joel Alvarez on Nov. 13.

Alvarez initially revealed the booking on social media, and it was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com. UFC Fight Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight bout between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

Moises had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he was submitted by Islam Makhachev in the fourth round of the UFC on ESPN 26 headliner on July 17. Prior to that, Moises had bested Michael Johnson, Bobby Green and Alexander Hernandez in succession.

Alvarez has won three consecutive bouts since dropping his Octagon debut to Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 145. Most recently, the 28-year-old Spaniard known as “El Fenomeno” submitted Alexander Yakovlev in the opening round at UFC 254.

Additional fight announcement for RIZIN.31

Yutaka Saito vs. Juntaro Ushiku#RIZIN #RIZIN31 pic.twitter.com/iUPvFVzPoM

— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) October 4, 2021 Featherweight champion Yutaka Saito will defend his crown against Deep title holder Juntaro Ushiku in the Rizin Fighting Federation 31 main event on Oct. 24.

The Japanese promotion announced the booking on Monday. Rizin 31 takes place in Yokohama, Japan, and will also see recent atomweight title challenger Kanna Asakura square off against Saori Oshima in the co-main event.

The rest of the Rizin 31 card was also confirmed: Tsuyoshi Sudario vs Saint Saint; Yusaku Nakamura vs. Yuki Ito; Daisuke Nakamura vs Suguru Nii; Masanori Kanehara vs. Takahiro Ashida; Daichi Abe vs Akira Okada; Rikuto Shirakawa vs Takuya Yamamoto; and Seiichiro Ito vs Kunta Hashimoto.

A former Shooto featherweight champion, Saito has won eight of his last nine professional outings. That stret…

Count Patricio Freire among those who didn’t agree with the final verdict in the Bellator 267 headliner.

Michael Page defeated ex-welterweight champion Douglas Lima via split decision on Friday in London, but many observers thought Lima did enough to get the nod. Freire is in that camp, and he believes the result would be different if a third meeting was booked.

"The fight was pretty even,” the Bellator lightweight champion told Sherdog.com. “But I disagree with the result, I would give the win to Douglas. And if they make a trilogy, like MVP suggested, I will bet again on Douglas again.”

Meanwhile, it’s been more than two months since Freire relinquished his featherweight crown to A.J. McKee in the Bellator 263 main event. “Pitbull” revealed that he has made a somewhat unconventional proposal to the promotion.

"My desire is to have a title unification bout at a catchweight [of 150 pounds],” Freire said. “The winner gets both belts, but Bellator has not an…

Crazy 1 punch knockout BKFC 20 #BKFC20 pic.twitter.com/1ypGt3qdQi

— SEATTLE MIKE (@fightswfriends) August 21, 2021

Justin Thornton, a veteran of 24 professional mixed martial arts bouts, has reportedly died due to injuries sustained in a knockout loss under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship banner this past August.

My MMA News was first to report Thornton’s death. Thornton fell face first to the canvas after absorbing a right hand from Dillon Cleckler at BKFC in Biloxi, Miss., on Aug. 20. Thornton was taken out of the ring on the stretcher. He remained hospitalized since the bout and was also on a ventilator, according to various reports. Thornton was 38 years old.

“This morning we were very saddened to be notified of the passing of one of our fighters, Justin Thornton, who competed at BKFC-20 on August 20, 2021,” BKFC president Dave Feldman said in a statement released to MMAjunkie.com. “We join the rest of the combat sports commun…

There was one mishap on the scales during Monday’s weigh-ins for Week 6 of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Joshua Weems tipped the scales at 139 pounds for his bantamweight clash against Fernando Garcia. As a result, Weems has been fined 20 percent of his purse. All of the nine other athletes slated for action — including Garcia (136 pounds) — hit their contracted marks without issue.

The Contender Series takes place on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The featured bout of the evenign is a welterweight clash pitting Shimon Smotritsky (170.5) against Mike Malott (170.5).

Israel’s Smotritsky is just 21 years old but has compiled a 7-0 record since turning pro in 2016. Most recently, “Assassin” took a split decision over Sergey Yaskovets at Russian Cagefighting Championship 8 in December 2020. He also owns a pair of victories under the Bellator MMA banner.

Malott, who is anchored at Team Alpha Male, has been victorious i…

The long-anticipated lightweight championship showdown between Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier is a done deal.

Poirier’s representatives confirmed to promotional broadcast partner ESPN on Sunday night that the Louisiana native has agreed to challenge Oliveira for lightweight gold at UFC 269 on Dec. 11. Poirier added his own note of confirmation via Twitter: “Signed, sealed and delivered.” MMAFighting.com was first to report the Oliveira-Poirier matchup last month.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 4, 2021

UFC 269 doesn’t have an official location but will likely take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card is also expected to include a women’s bantamweight title tilt beetween reigning champ Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.

Oliveira claimed the 155-pound throne vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov on May 15, when he defeat Michael Chandler via second-round TKO in the UFC 262 headliner. “Do Bro…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

Tanner Boser will lock horns with Sergei Pavlovich in a heavyweight matchup at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Dec. 4.

Pavlovich confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from TSN. The UFC Fight Night card is expected to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is topped by a bantamweight clash between Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Boser snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, when he knocked out Ovince St. Preux in the second-round at UFC Fight Night 190. The 30-year-old Canadian is 4-3 during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion and 20-8-1 as a professional overall.

Pavlovich will look to return to action after having a 2020 booking against Ciryl Gane fall through due to injury and a September matchup with Tom Aspinall canceled as a result of visa issues. The Eagles MMA representative suffered a first-round TKO defeat to Alistair Overeem in his Octagon debut but has since reboun…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC

A lightweight bout pitting Jai Herbert against Khama Worthy has been added to the UFC Fight Night 196 lineup.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. UFC Fight Night 196 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Oct. 23 and is headlined by a middleweight tilt between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori.

A former Cage Warriors 155-pound champion, Herbert entered his promotional debut on a six-fight winning streak but has since been finished by Francisco Trinaldo and Renato Carneiro in his first two UFC appearances. The 33-year-old Renegade Jiu-Jitsu product is 10-3 as a professional with eight of those triumphs coming via KO or TKO.

Worthy, meanwhile, made a splash in his first promotional foray, as he stopped Devonte Smith in the opening stanza at UFC 241. “The Deathstar” then submitted Luis Pena in his sophomore outing at UFC on ESPN 12 but has since suffered consecutive knockout losses at the hands of Ottman Azaitar and Jam…

Brian Kelleher will square off against Saidyokub Kakhramonov in a bantamweight scrap at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Jan. 15.

MMA DNA was first to report the booking. The card does not have an official location or headliner at this time.

Kelleher went 1-1 in 2020, dropping a unanimous verdict against Ricky Simon at UFC 258 before outpointing Domingo Pilarte at UFC on ESPN 29. The 35-year-old known as “Boom” is 7-5 during his Octagon tenure and 23-12 as a professional overall.

A former Cage Fury Fighting Championships bantamweight title holder, Kakhramonov submitted Trevin Jones in his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 29 on Aug. 21. The 25-year-old Team Top Notch product has won four of five professional outings since falling to Umar Nurmagomedov under the Professional Fighters League banner in 2018.

The UFC Fight Night 193 main event was expected to be a barnburner between two Brazilian light heavyweights with a penchant for finishing.

Instead, Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker engaged in a rather forgettable affair, with Santos emerging with a unanimous decision triumph after five lackluster rounds on Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Particularly troubling was the lack of output and aggression from Walker, who recently relocated camps to SBG Ireland. All told, Walker landed just 48 significant strikes.

As it turns out, Walker may have been limited early in the fight. The 29-year-old Rio de Janeiro native revealed via his Instagram story that he may have suffered an injury in the bout. He doesn’t make it clear exactly when the injury might have occurred, however

“I think I broke my foot a little bit,” Walker says in the video. “A little fracture. That’s why I stop kicking.”

Johnny Walker believes he broke his foot.#UFCVe…

Over the past couple years, Thiago Santos has endured double knee surgeries and a three-bout losing streak, but the former light heavyweight title challenger believes he can be a contender once again.

“Marreta” took a step toward achieving that goal with a five-round unanimous decision victory against Johnny Walker in the UFC Fight Night 193 headliner at the UFC Apex on Saturday night. It was the 37-year-old Brazilian’s first triumph after falling to Jon Jones, Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic in succession. Even in defeat, Santos argued that he’s always been competitive.

“I went through hard times since when I did my surgery – it’s hard to recover. I stopped [fighting] for a year and a half,” Santos said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I fought against Glover, lost. I took another fight against Rakic, lost. But no one run me over. It’s a tough fight. I fought against them against tough guys. Every single fight I feel better. It’s important to me. I go do…

ESPN+ subscribers will be getting their money’s worth when it comes to Ultimate Fighting Championship coverage this month.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed on Saturday that the UFC 267 main card will air free of charge to those who pay the $6.99 monthly subscription fee. Normally, the UFC’s numbered events are only available through ESPN+ via pay-per-view for $69.99.

UFC 267 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 30 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira. In the co-main event, Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen will vie for the interim bantamweight crown. Four other fights round out the six-bout main card: Islam Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker at lightweight; Alexander Volkov vs. Marcin Tybura at heavyweight; Jingliang Li vs. Khamzat Chimaev at welterweight and Magomed Ankalaev vs. Volkan Oezdemir at light heavyweight.

The UFC 267 main card begins at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on ESPN+, while the preli…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. It may be remembered as memorably unmemorable. American Top Team’s Thiago Santos closed the book on a career-worst three-fight losing streak and recorded his first win since Feb. 23, 2019, as he captured a unanimous decision over Johnny Walker in a shockingly uneventful UFC Fight Night 193 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 48-47 for Santos (22-9, 14-8 UFC).

Santos lands clean, but Walker

[ #UFCVegas38 | LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ycK0sBggRc

— UFC (@ufc) October 3, 2021

Walker (18-6, 4-3 UFC) zeroed in on the legs with kicks but lacked the throw-caution-to-the-wind aggression for which he has become known. Santos remained content to throw punches and kicks at a leisurel…

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Sherdog's live UFC Fight Night 193 coverage will begin Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below. Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round…

Ambos @JoeSolecki y @JFlashGordonMMA a la ofensiva buscando la victoria #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/MczGHFCOAK

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) October 2, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Jared Gordon made a triumphant return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division, as he eked out a split decision over Joe Solecki in the featured UFC Fight Night 193 prelim on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Derek Cleary for Solecki, Sal D’Amato and Dave Hagen for Gordon. It was his first outing at 155 pounds in nearly two years. Afterward, the Sanford MMA export set his sights on a showdown with top British prospect Paddy Pimblett.

Everything went ac…

Congrats to @BetheCorreia on an amazing career in the UFC #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/QY7aAQ7ouB

— UFC (@ufc) October 2, 2021

UFC Fight Night 193 was expected to be Bethe Correia’s farewell in the Octagon, and the Brazilian bantamweight didn’t alter course following the conclusion of her bout against Karol Rosa.

Correia confirmed her decision following a clear-cut decision loss to Rosa in a preliminary 135-pound contest at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“Very emotional moment for me,” Correia said in a post-fight interview in the cage. “It’s been very emotional for me, a lot of deja vu moments for me. I can only thank the UFC for all the opportunities they gave me.”

Correia, 38, ends her MMA career with an 11-6-1 mark. She began her professional tenure with nine consecutive wins, including triumphs over Julie Kedzie, Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler in UFC competition. The wins over Duke and Baszler — both part of the…

AND NEW! CREASEY HAS DONE IT!

Pure drama.

In his third flyweight title fight, Sam Creasey weathers early adversity and secures the submission finish. #CW129 pic.twitter.com/TJWNWE862J — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 2, 2021

The final installment of the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship trilogy saw more guillotines than the French Revolution.

In the Cage Warriors 129 main event, Sam Creasey (15-3, 10-3 CW) took on former divisional title holder Luke Shanks (8-3, 4-2 CW) for the vacant flyweight championship. Only “Urai” was eligible to win the title since his Shanks missed the championship weight by 2.7 pounds ahead of their clash. Creasey relied on his wrestling and grappling skills early in the bout, forcing “The Apocalypse” to defend himself from a rear-naked choke from his back. Shanks fought his way out of the sticky situation and back to his feet, but the stream cut off shortly thereafter and left viewers wonderi…

Michael Page looks like Bellator MMA’s next No. 1 contender at 170 pounds.

The London Shootfighters star picked his spots and avenged the only defeat on his resume, as he eked out a split decision over three-time welterweight champion Douglas Lima in the Bellator 267 headliner on Friday at The SSE Arena in London. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Ben Cartlidge for Lima, Eric Colon and Douglas Crosby for Page.

Lima (32-10, 14-6 Bellator) controlled a substantial chunk of the rematch with takedowns, topside grappling and ground-and-pound but seemed to get lost in the big moments. Page (20-1, 16-1 Bellator) twice knocked down the off-balance Brazilian with right hands, stealing his thunder and the momentum that accompanied it. Lima executed takedowns in the first and third rounds and remained calm under duress, only to have his inability to find the Brit in the standup exchanges come back to haunt him.

The 34-year-old Page has won six fights in a row and figures…

Aspen Ladd weighs 137. #UFCVegas38 pic.twitter.com/FCOQCMTTjN

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) October 1, 2021 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Editor's note: The article has been updated at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday to add information from UFC officials regarding a bout cancelation. There was plenty of drama at the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship weigh-in, as three UFC Fight Night 193 fighters missed weight.

While headliners Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker had no issue making weight, three other bouts were impacted. Bethe Correia missed weight badly for her upcoming retirement bout by coming in 2.5 pounds heavy against Karol Rosa. Short-notice replacement fighter Mike Breeden also missed his weight category's limit by 2.5 pounds, exceeding the lightweight cap ahead of his match with Alexander Hernandez. However, the most concern…

Unforgettable.

How did you score it?!#CW128 pic.twitter.com/NHH9HMwaFz

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 1, 2021 Proud Irish and French fans packed the York Hall in London for the second segment of this Cage Warriors Fighting Championship trilogy series. The CW 128 headliner saw Paul Hughes (8-1, 5-1 CW) throw down with Morgan Charriere (16-9-1, 3-3 CW) in a barnburner for the interim featherweight championship. Both contenders shined brightly in the first stanza, but the Frenchman scored the more precise shots. Charriere intelligently protected himself from damage, and ended the round dramatically with a big judo throw shortly before the bell. The second round was very close, as the Australian-born fighter fought off a guillotine choke attempt and retaliated with crisp punches. Hughes gained momentum after wobbling “The Last Pirate” with a heavy combination in the third frame. The Fight Academy Ireland standout dragged his opponent t…

Sherdog's live Bellator 267 coverage kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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